November 21, 2009

A crime that shocked the residents of Evansville occurred on January 18th, 1973.

Ann Kline, 26, was found brutally stabbed to death at the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse in downtown Evansville.

Kline was a math teacher at the now closed Lockyear College of Business which was directly across the street from the Old Courthouse. She was loved by her students and didn’t have any known enemies.

Her body was found outside, under the Fifth Street entrance to the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse.

She was lying in the basement entrance, where she couldn’t be easily seen. She had been stabbed 19 times in the chest and neck. Evansville Lieutenant Walter Kochersperger, who was a rookie officer back then, was one of the first on the scene.

It was his first homicide. About the crime, he says, “At times it didn’t look real, then other times it just looked horrific. You couldn’t believe what you saw, what one person did to another. The brutality of it, the senselessness of it.”

Evansville detectives recently got a break in the 35-year-old murder case. They think they know who killed an Evansville math teacher back in 1973, but still need your help.

Her killer has remained a mystery for a generation of police officers until they received one important tip.

Detective Tony Mayhew says, “One detail was that the killer had cut their hand during the stabbing and there was a second blood source that matched up with our suspect.”

Investigators plan to present the evidence they have to the prosecutor but they hope more people will come forward with what they know because investigators believe the suspect told several people.

April 21, 1989, Marvin Rowe of Beaver Dam was found shot, stabbed and beaten to death just outside the Ohio County line on U.S. 231 in Butler County.

Firefighters arrived to what they thought was a car fire, but quickly discovered Rowe’s body between the car and an abandoned house.

Both the car and house were on fire.

Investigators described Rowe’s death as overkill and said a death that violent usually indicates the victim knew his killer.

Many leads were checked over the years, but no one has ever been charged in Mr. Rowe’s death.

In June of this 2009, the Henderson State Police Post received some information in relation to this case, and this was passed on to the investigating officers.

Police are seeking additional information and are encouraging anyone who may have information to contact the Kentucky State Police in Henderson at 270-826-3312 or the Kentucky State Police in Bowling Green at 270-782-2010.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact Detective Robert Weakley of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at (561) 688-4000 or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.

Homicide of Rita and Lisa Bado PBSO Case 92-96554

On Friday, August 22, 1992, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to 2945 Windswept Drive, Apartment 103, Runaway Bay Apartments, Lantana, Florida. The area of the apartments is further described as being to the southeast of Lantana Road and South Congress Avenue and immediately south of the Lantana Airpark. The response was at the request of Thomas and Karen Tebecio who are relatives of the two women residing at that residence. The Tebecio’s had gone to the residence at the request of co-workers of the elder resident as she had not responded as usual to her place of employment at WalMart.

At the Tebeccio’s arrival they discovered the body of Rita Bado, DOB 071347, lying on the floor of the master bedroom and the body of her daughter Lisa Bado, DOB 070272, lying on the bed in the same bedroom. The body of Rita was clad in a thin nightgown and the body of Lisa was nude. It was apparent that both victims had been restrained by a ligature of some type that had been removed by the suspect(s) on their departure from the premises. To date the type of ligature is unknown. A small amount of seminal fluid was found on the leg of Rita Bado but same contained no semen. It appeared that Lisa Bado had been sexually battered in and around the anus post mortem.

Each victim had been shot by a .22 caliber bullet in the back of the head. It was apparent the report of the weapon had been suppressed by placing a throw-pillow around the weapon prior to the discharge. The sequence of death for the victims remains unknown. It is surmised, based on the condition of the crime scene and other facts subsequently learned regarding the activities of the victims, Rita Bado was home prior to the arrival of the suspect and Lisa Bado arrived along with the suspect and/or immediately prior to his/her/their arrival. It is unknown if there is a single or multiple perpetrator(s).

Investigation of the homicides determined two items had been taken from the residence. Items discovered to be missing from the apartment immediately after the homicides were a Sanyo television and a VCR. The television is further described as a color image, nineteen-inch table model, model #DS19130, black colored cabinet with gray colored trim. The items were taken from a brown colored cabinet in the living room. They have not been recovered to date. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact Detective Robert Weakley of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at (561) 688-4000 or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.

Homicide of Rachel Hurley PBSO Case 90-68169

On Saturday, March 17, 1990, at approximately 8:30PM, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was advised of the following discovery. The body of a white female approximately 14-15 years of age had been located in a dense palmetto (palm) clump contained in the borders of a Palm Beach County Park. The park is known as Carlin Park, which is surrounded by the city limits of Jupiter, Florida. Carlin Park is located one-half mile south of the Jupiter Inlet bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Intracoastal Waterway, to the north by property owned by the Hilton Hotel and to the south by private residential areas.

Carlin Park is frequented heavily during all time periods of the year and especially on the weekends. The body was subsequently identified as being white female Rachel K. Hurley, DOB 101475.

During the day prior to the time of her death, Rachel Hurley had been spending time with her friends on another beach area just north of the crime scene known as Jupiter Inlet Park. Rachel mentioned to friends around 2:45PM that she had to leave the area and walk the approximate one-half mile to Carlin Park. She had been instructed to meet her mother at the north end of the pavilion area of Carlin Park at 3:00PM. Her mother was to drive her home because of other commitments for the day. When Rachel did not arrive at the scheduled 3:00PM time, her mother telephoned various friends and acquaintances who might possibly have information regarding the whereabouts of Rachel.

A witness, who was 16 years of age at the time, and considered to be an intelligent and observing person, was interviewed two days following the homicide. The witness stated he had been at Carlin Park on the day of the murder. After hearing the news of the murder from the media he recalled the following event. The incident occurred at about 3:30PM, on March 17, 1990. His attention had been drawn to the area of the north pavilion building of Carlin Park when he observed a white male in his late thirty’s, approximately 6 feet tall, lean in build, having short blond hair and a thick beard, appearing to have a sunken chest and having a small patch of chest hair. The suspect male was wearing dirty blue jeans, was carrying a blue colored T-shirt and wore construction type boots. The suspect attracted the attention of the witness because he had scratches on his chest, right shoulder and down the right shoulder blade and back area.

For weeks literally hundreds of calls were received at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office regarding the case. People were calling and advising of the location of vagrants and homeless persons who were living in wooded areas throughout the northern part of Palm Beach County. Hundreds of suspects were checked out and none was found to closely resemble the description given by the witness. Numerous persons were interviewed as suspects but none could be linked to the crime.

During the first week of March 1999, with the request and committment of the victim’s parents, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office decided to submitt this case to the Vidocq Society for a review. Their review of the case in June of that year initiated several avenues for further investigation but to date nothing has been substantiated sufficiently to obtain an arrest warrant for any of the known suspects.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact Detective Robert Wolfort of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office at (561) 688-4065 or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.

On February 24, 1997, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of Sundra Kay Waters. The victim was located nude, behind an adult bookstore. Items found beside the body were one dark towel with the monogram JSM, one black cloth napkin, one pack of cigarettes, and one lighter.

The cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation. The victim was a rock cocain user, alcoholic, and street prostitute working in the vacinity of NE 13 Street and 7th Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale.

This is Case # 97-38324.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at (561) 688-4000 or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.

On July 14, 1982, this agency responded to the New Hope Sugar Corporation, Belle Glade, Florida in reference to three bodies found in a drainage ditch. The estimated date of death was one to two weeks prior to discovery. It is believed that victims were shot elsewhere and dumped into the canal. The murders were possibly drug related.

This victim had substantial tooth decay. The body was wrapped in plastic, bedsheets and blankets, which were tied with various types of nylon cords. A pair of loose handcuffs was found, as well as a pair of eyeglasses, a multi-colored scarf and a brown pullover short sleeve T-shirt with a “camel and a pyramid” on the front. The victim was shot twice in the back.

This victim had black hair. There was one tatoo – “D Z M” on the upper left back and a coiled snake with a woman’s head and the words ” SI ERES TU” printed above the design. The victim was possibly Latin. He had a black Fu Man Chu mustache. He had extensive dental work.

Found with the victim was an Aquarius medallion keyring with four keys, a gold ring with pinkish stone, a gold chain and two medallions (one had a national semi-conductor chronograph). The body was wrapped in a mummy style in several articles of clothing, bed linen, and plastic, with a black plastic garbage bag wrapped around head. The wrapping was held together by clothesline, window cord and fishing lines. The victim was tied to a blue and gold inflatable life raft. He was handcuffed and shot in the lower right back.

This victim had brown hair, a slight overbite and several dental restorations. The victim possibly Latin and had traces of a mustache.

The Victim was wearing “Mark Phillips” blue jeans and basketball trunks for underwear. The body was wrapped in a dark blue quilted bed comforter, and a black plastic garbage bag over the head and feet, tied with window cord. A pair of handcuffs was on the victim with the word “STOP” printed over the keyhole.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact Detective Wayne Robinson of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office at (561) 688-4102 or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.

On 8/13/97 the body of a black female was discovered off I-95 north of Donald Ross Road in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The victim was identified by finger prints as black female Melissa Floyd 12/16/72. Melissa Floyd was reported missing on 11/20/97 to the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department. She was last seen by her sisters August 12, 1997 in the area of 1340 NW 19th Av. Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Victim was dropped off at an unknown motel. Victim is a known crack user and possibly a prostitute.

November 5, 2009

It is the year of Our Lord 1888, in the Country of England the Capital of London and the district known as White Chapel. This area is known for its atmosphere of destitute, poor, overcrowded, and death. Families live with the livestock, children are born and die shortly after birth, husbands and wives leave each other. Women turn to alcohol and prostitution for relief and earnings. In this environment, a series of murders occurred that have never been solved. Although, there has been much speculation as to whom the famous “Ripper” was and why he did these things.

This is where the fun starts. In order to know who he was and why he did the things he did, one has to know the nature of the crimes he committed and on whom he committed them. He has been attributed to committing at least five of the murders that were committed in the area of White Chapel. Though there is speculation that he could have committed others. The crimes started abruptly on Friday August 31, 1888 and ended just as abruptly on Friday November 9,1888. (Jack the Ripper Casebook). There were five women murdered in Whitechapel within a mile of each other and while each woman was different, they all shared similarities. Each was known as prostitutes, alcoholics, divorced, very poor, and some if not all had some sort of illness from syphilis to Brights Disease and TB. All of the victims were between 5’and 5’7” tall. (www.casebook.org) This is where it gets really strange. Four of the victims were dark headed and in their forties. The last victim was 25 years old and blond. All of the victims had their throats slashed, and with each new murder the violence was enhanced. Two of the victims had their faces slashed beyond recognition, causing speculation that these women may have tried to fight him, knew him or both. The mutilation of the face was a statement to the fact that he was in charge and they infuriated him. It was a fit of extreme rage on his part.

Many theories have been written about the Ripper and who he was. But few have been written, if any about why he did what he did. This could be because he was never caught and there were no known facts about him. That being said, I will try to put to paper my opinion about this elusive criminal. Based on the physical evidence, that being, the women, who they were, where they lived and what they did for a living, one could assume that he felt that they were a drain on society and were not fit to live. Based on the brutality of the murders and the fact that he strangled them before he mutilated them showed that he did not want them to cry out and thereby bring attention to himself, even though he committed all but one of these crimes in a public place. He wanted the thrill of possible detection without the verbal possibility of detection. He did not have relations with these women even though he had approached them for sexual intentions.

My theory is that he possibly could not perform sexually. The Ripper was in all probability a psychopath .He appeared to have no fear of detection. He was able to charm these women and lure them into a false sense of security resulting in their death in a very public place. With each murder he became more ruthless; it was as if he could not get satisfaction without more and more mutilation. This was more than likely his release of sexual frustration. It was as if he needed not only the thrill of possible detection, but to completely humiliate these women by the mutilations. He committed these crimes within a four month period suggesting that he could not get enough satisfaction from the first one. He had to continue making each one more horrid. He appeared to know what type of female he was looking for and it is my belief that he stalked them, watching them before he committed the crimes.

The last one was probably not one he had planned. She may have been an impulse, especially if he noticed that she was pregnant. She did not fit the profile that he had set. The Ripper was more than likely a very attractive man, who was well educated and probably had knowledge of a surgeon or mortician. The way he arranged the body parts of the last victim suggested that he wanted to achieve satisfaction; but in his demented way he was leaving a calling card of laughter. This murder and mutilation had to take at least two hours to complete. From the appearance of the hands, he may not have strangled her before he started carving. He appeared to have taken his time and enjoyed the sense of power and control because he did not have to fear detection. (johnno.casebook.org/ripper.html).

There were no more killings after the murder of Mary Kelly. It appears as if she was his swan song. He had accomplished that which his twisted mind had germinated. He had not only fulfilled his sexual fantasy and rid the world of one more unnecessary female, he had also taken the very life she carried and spared it the pain of living in the same squalid conditions that she was living in.

Probably, in The Ripper’s mind, he had paid his dues for his crimes. Was he abused as a child? Was his mother a prostitute? Was he a witness to the things that his mother did? These questions are pure speculation and continue to haunt those that study this unsolved crime. However, based on the evidence of the crime scenes and the bodies of the women, one could probably safely assume that this man had no conscience. He killed and mutilated to satisfy the evil from within. He cared not for anything or any one. He enjoyed the thrill of possible detection, yet he took great care not to get bloodied by his deeds.

All of the victims were already lying down with their head turned to the left side. (www.casebook.org) Whitechapel Murders Mary Ann Nicholls age 43 Annie Chapman age 47 Murdered August 31,1888 Murdered September 27,1888 Place of Murder Place of Murder Bucks Row No 29 Hanbury Street DOB 8/26/1845 DOB 9/1841 Height 5’2′ Height 5′ Hair Brown Hair Brown clothing Clothing Back Straw bonnet trimmed with black velvet Reddish brown ulster with seven large brass buttons bearing the pattern of a woman on horse back accompanied by a man Brown linsey frock apparently new according to Sugden White flannel chest cloth Black ribbed wool stockings Two petticoats, one grey wool, one flannel. Both stenciled on bands “Lambeth Workhouse” Brown Stays (short), Flannel Drawers Men’s elastic (spring) sided boots with the upper cut and steel tips on the heels (merlyn555.bravepages.com/jack/polly.htm) long black figured coat that came down to her knees, black skirt, brown bodice, another bodice, 2 pettiecoats, a large pocket worn under the skirt and tied about the waist with string, lace up boots, red and white striped woolen stockings, neckerchief white with a wide red border (merlyn555.bravepages.com) Prostitute Prostitute Alocholic Alocholic TB Time of Death approx 3:30 AM Time of Death approx 5:30 AM Injuries Injuries Lying lengthways along street, her left hand touching the gate. Blood was oozing from a wound in the throat. She was lying on her back with her clothes disarragned. Her arm was quite warm from the joints upwards, her eyes were wide open. Five of front teeth are missing, slight laceration of the tongue. On right side of face there is a bruise running along the lower part of the jaw. It might have been caused by a blow with fist or pressure of the thumb. On the left side of the face there was a circular bruise. which also might have been done by the pressure of the fingers. On the left side of the neck about an inch below the jaw, there was an incision about four inches long and running from a point immediately below the ear. An inch below on the same side and commencing about an inch in front of it was a circular incision terminatin at a point about three inches below the right jaw.

This incisions completely severs all the tissues down to the vertabrae. The large vessels of the neck on both sides were severed. The incision is about eight inches long. There were no injuries about the body till just about the lower part of the abdomen. Two or three inches from the left side was a wound running in a jagged manner. It was a very deep wound and the tissues were cut through. There were several incisions running across the abdmon On the right side there were also three or four similar cuts running downwards. (merlyn555.bravepages.com/jack/polly.htm) lying on her back on the ground. her head was towards the back of the wall of the house, nearl two feet from the wall, at the bottom of the steps, but six or nine inches away from them.

The face was turned to the right side and the left arm was resting on the left brest. the right hand was lying down the right side.Deceased’s legs were drawn up and the clothing was above the knees. A portion of intestines still connected with the body,were lying above the right shoulder, with some pieces of skin. There were also some pieces of skin on the left shoulder. The body was lying parallel with the fencing dividing the two yards.The face was swollen and turned on the right side and the tongue protruded between the front teeth,but not beyond the lips, it was much swollen. There was a large quantity of blood, with a part of the stomach above the left shoulder. The body was cold,except that there was a certain remaining heat, under the intestines, in the body. Stiffness of the limbs was not marked, but it was commencing.

The throat was dissevered deeply. The incision of the skin was jagged and reached right around the neck. There was a bruise over the right temple.There was a burise under the clavicle and there were two distinct bruises each the size of man’s thumg on the fore part of the chest. The throat had beenn severed. The incisions of the skin indicated that they had been made from the left side of the neck on a line with the angle of the jaw, carried entirely round and again in front of the neck and ending at a point about midway between the jaw and the sternum or breast bone There were two distinct clean cuts on the body of the vertebrae on the left side of the spin. They were parallel to each other and separated by about half an inch. The muscular structures between the side processes of bone of the vertebrae had an appearance as if an attempt had been made to separate the bones of the neck. (merlyn555.bravepages.com)

In the case of Annie Chapman the abdomen had been entirely laid open , the intestines were severed from their mesenteric attachments, and had been lifted out of the body and placed on the shoulder of the corpse. While from the pelvis the uterus and it appendages with the upper portion of the vagina and the posterior two thirds of the bladder had been entirely removed. None of these parts were ever found. These incisions were cleanly cut avoiding the rectum and dividing the vagina low enough to avoid injury to the cervix uteri. ( www. pathguy.com)

Prostitute, Alocholic, Alocholic Brights Disease Time of Death Approx 1:00AM Time of Death approx 1:40AM Injuries Injuries throat cut, lying on left side with her left hand on the ground. the right arm was across the breast. Her face was not more than five or six inches away from the club wall.The legs were drawn up feet close to the wall,body still warm,face warm, hands cold, legs quite warm,silk handkerchief around throat slightly torn. corresponded to the right angle of the jaw, the throat was deeply gashed and there was an abrasion of the skin about an inch and a quarter in diameter, under the right clavicle.Over both shoulders especially the right arm, from the front aspect under colar bonesand in front of chest there is a blusih discolouration. on neck fron left to right there is a clean cut incision six inches in length, incision commencing two and a half inches in a straight line belwo the angle of the jaw. Three-quarters of an inch over undivided muscle, then becoming deeper about an inch dividing the sheath and the vessels, ascending a little and then grazing the muscle outside the cartilages on the left side of the neck.

The carotid artery on the left side and the other vessels contained in the sheath were all cut through, save the posteriorportion of the carotid, to a line about 1-1/2 inch in extent, which prevented the separation of the upper and lower portion of the artery. the cut through the tissues on the right side of the cartilages is more superficial and tails off to about two inches below the right angle of the jaw. It is evident that hte hemmorrage which produced death was cause through the partial severance of the left carotid artery.(merlyn555.bravepages.com)

Body its back, head turned to left shoulder, arms by side, palms upwards, fingers sligthly bent, left leg extenteed ,in a line with body. Abdomen exposed. Right leg bent at the thigh and knee. Throat cut across. Intestines were drawn out to a large extent and place over the right shoulder – were smeared over with some feculent matter. Piece of about two feet were guite detached from the body and placed between the body and left arm. The lobe and aruricle of the right ear were cut obliquely through. Face much mutliated. cut about 1/4 of an inch thrrough the lower left eyelid, dividing the structure completery through upper eyelid on that side.

Scratch through the skin on the left upper eyelid near to the angle of the nose.Right eyelid ws cut through to about 1/2 ” Deep cut over bridge of nose,extending from left border of nasal bone down to near angle fo jaw on right side of cheek. Cut went into the bone and divided all structures of the cheek except mucous membrane of the mouth. Tip of noes was quite detached from an oblique cut from bottom of nasal bone to point wings of nose join the face. Cut from this divided upper lip and extended throught substrance of gum over right upper lateral incisor tooth. 1/2″ from top of nose was another oblique cut.

Cut on right angle of mouth as if cut of a point of knife. Cut extended 1-1/2″ parallel with lower lip. on each side of cheek a cut which peeled up skin forming triangular flap about 1-1/2″ on left check two abrasions of epithelium under left ear. Throat cut across to extent of about 6-7 “. Superficial cut commenced about 1-1/2″ below lobe below and 2-1/2″ behind left ear and extened across throat. about 3″ below lobe of right ear. Big muscle of throat was divided on left side. large vessels on left side of neck was severed. larynx was severed below vocal chord. all deep structures were severed to bone, knife marking intervertebral cartilages. sheeth of vessel on right side was just opened. cartoid artery had fine hole opeing , internal jugular vein opened 1-1/2″

Mary Kelly age 25 Murdered November 9,1888 Place of Murder Millers Square DOB 1865 Height 5’7” Hair Blond Clothing This victim was found in her bed naked. She was the only victim found this way in in a house the others were all killed and left outside. Prostitute Alcoholic Three months pregnant Time of Death between 1-2AM injuries Body was lying naked in middle of bed with the shoulders flat but the axis of body inclined to left side of bed. Head was turned on left cheek. Left arm was close to the body with the forearm flexed at right angle and lying across abdomen. Right arm was slightly abducted from body and rested on mattress.

Elbow was bent forearm supine with fingers clenched. Legs were wide apart, left thigh at right angles to the trunk and the right forming an obtuse angle with the pubes. Whole surface of abdomen and thighs was removed and the abdominal cavity empted of its viscera. Breasts were cut off, arms mutilated by several jagged wounds and the face hacked beyond recognition of features. Viscera were found in various parts viz: uterus, and kidney with one breast under the head, the other breast by the right foot, the liver between the feet, the intestines by the right side and the spleen by the left side of the body.

The flaps removed from the abdomen and thighs were on a table. Face was gashed in all directions, nose, cheeks, eyebrows and ears being partly removed. Lips were blanched and cut by several incisions running obliquely down to chin. There were also numerous cuts extending irregularly across all features. Neck was cut through the skin and other tissues right down to the vertebrae, the 5th,6th being deeply notched. Skin cuts in front of neck showed distinct ecchymosis.

Air passage was cut at the lower part of the larynx through cricoid cartilage. Both breasts were more or less removed by circular incisions, the muscle down to the ribs being attached to the breasts. The intercostals between the 4th,5th and 6th ribs were cut through and contents of thorax visible through openings. Skin and tissues of abdomen from costal arch to pubes were removed in three large flaps. Right thigh was denuded in front to the bone, the flap of skin including the external organs of generation, and part of right buttock. Left thigh was stripped of skin fascia, and muscle as far as knee. Left calf showed long gash through skin and tissue to the deep muscles and reaching from knee to five inches above ankle.

Both arms and forearms had extensive jagged wounds. Right thumb show a small superficial incision about one inch long with extravastion of blood in the skin and there were several abrasions on the back of the hand moreover showing same condition. On opening the thorax it was found that the right lung was minimally adherent by old firm adhesions. Lower part of lung was broken and torn away. Left lung was intact. It was adherent at the apex and there were a few adhesions over the side. In the substances of the lung there were several nodules of consolidation. Pericardium was open below and heart absent. (merlyn555.bravepages.com)

This article written by Yvonne Mason and no part of it may be reprinted, redistributed without express permission of the author

November 4, 2009

FBI Seeking Information:

Seeking information regarding any person(s) who may have had contact with Jonathan Luna, any person(s) who may have seen Luna with someone, or person(s) who knows someone who was with Luna, or any person(s) who may have seen Luna’s vehicle between the late evening of December 3, 2003, until approximately 5:30 a.m. on the morning of December 4, 2003, in Baltimore, Maryland, Newark, Delaware, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, South New Jersey, or Brecknock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Additional Information:

This is the car which was driven by Jonathan Luna prior to his death on or about December 4, 2003. It is described as a 1999 silver 4-door Honda Accord with Maryland license plates UNC 0011.

Reward:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the resolution of the investigation into the death of Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan P. Luna.

The Crime:

On October 11, 2001, at about 10:40 p.m., Thomas Crane Wales was killed in his home in Seattle, Washington. Wales worked for the Western District of Washington as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for over 18 years, prosecuting white collar crime cases on behalf of the United States of America.

Information Needed:

It is believed that the shooter stood in the backyard of AUSA Wales’ home and shot him several times through a basement window as he sat at his desk typing on his computer. It has been reported that a lone male suspect was seen fleeing the scene. Wales died at a hospital the next day.

FBI Remarks:

Wales was 49 years old and the father of two adult children. He was active in local community politics and community affairs, including gun control issues.

Reward:

The United States Department of Justice is offering a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of AUSA Thomas Crane Wales.

On October 29, 1992, California Fire Department Officials responded to a report of an explosion at a residence in Long Beach. Upon arrival, fire officials discovered the front door of the residence open and flames coming from the windows. Inside the residence, officials found the body of Sherry Carey lying face down on the bed in one of the rear bedrooms

Details:

After the victim was pulled from her home, it was determined that she had been brutally murdered. Her body showed evidence of blunt force trauma, strangulation, and multiple stab wounds. The victim had also been doused with an unknown type of accelerant and set on fire which resulted in first, second and third degree burns across her face and body.It is believed that the unknown suspect(s) knew Sherry Carey however, authorities are seeking any information regarding this crime.

FBI Remarks:

Sherry Carey lived alone. She owned a caricature drawing business and had interest in resale of antique and collectable furniture. She had different groups of friends each associated with different interests. These groups included friends from charity groups, antique furniture sales/restoration, and country western dancing. The night before Carey’s death, she went dancing at a country western bar where she met up with several friends. She reportedly left the bar alone as usual.

Bonny Lee Bakley

Bonny Lee Bakley:

Bonny Lee Bakley was not a good girl. She was a con artist who used sex and deception to bilk men — many of them rich and famous — out of their money and their children out of their inheritance. When she was shot to death in May 2001, her current husband, Robert Blake, was charged with the crime, but there was a long list of those with a motive.

Bakley’s Childhood:

Bonny Lee Bakley was born in Morristown, New Jersey on June 7, 1956. As a young girl her dreams were similar to others her age, to one day become rich and famous. Perhaps her rather impoverished home helped to drive these dreams. Or perhaps the desire to leave her hometown and begin her road to stardom grew deeper after she suffered through sexual abuse by her father. Whatever it was that did it – one thing is certain – her “wants” turned into “needs” and manifested into a blind obsession.

Marriage for Profit:

Bakley, who felt ostracized as a child for being poor, grew to be an attractive teen. She decided to try modeling and she signed on with a nearby agency. Through there she met an immigrant named Evangelos Paulakis, who was desperate to stay in the U.S. but needed to marry in order to do so. Bonny agreed to marry him for a price, but not long after the two shared “I do’s” Bonny, with the money safely tucked away, ended the marriage and Paulakis was picked by the authorities and deported.

Bakley Dreams of Stardom:

After high school Bonny headed to New York to begin her climb to stardom. She managed to get various small modeling jobs and donning the name “Lee Bonny” she became an extra in a few movies. But her goal of becoming a star did not happen and she set her attention on other ways to achieve, if not stardom, the fortune that came with it. Her focus switched from becoming a star to marrying one and regardless of where she was in life this obsession remained intact.

Bakley’s Sex Scam Business:

During her mid-twenties Bonny married her cousin Paul Gawron, a laborer who was street tough and prone to violent behavior. They had two children which Paul mainly cared for while Bonny worked toward her new endeavor — a mail-order business that focused on scamming lonely men out of money. Had Bonny not chosen such a sleazy career direction, her entreaupanuer tenacity mixed with her ability to market, organize, and profit in a highly competitive industry could have been admirable.

Great Balls of Fire:

Paul and Bonny had a twisted and volatile marriage. Bonny, who was busy scamming money from men, sometimes in the couple’s bedroom, was satisfied to let Paul stay home and he seemed to enjoy not having to work. But by 1982 the marriage ended. Bonny’s obsession to be in the inner circles of the famous mixed with the fact that she was not getting any younger motivated her decision to leave her kids in Paul’s care and head to Memphis, Tennessee to the door of musical artist, Jerry Lee Lewis.

Bakley Stalks Jerry Lee Lewis:

It would be a few years and several ‘hit and run’ marriages later before Bonny actually made it to Lewis’s door. Her money-making sex schemes coupled with her use of stolen credit cards and identification kept her mobile and she was able to fly to locations where Jerry Lee Lewis was performing. Bordering stalking, Bonny would often crash parties and show up at performances just to get in closer to Lewis. Finally the two met around 1982, and a friendship developed.

Baby Jerry Lee:

Jerry Lee Lewis and Bakley remained friends until Bakley became pregnant and told everyone that the child’s father was Jerry Lee Lewis and that he was leaving his wife to marry her. When the child was born, Bakley named her, Jerry Lee and put on the birth certificate, ‘father undetermined.’ The friendship between Lewis and Bakley ended and baby Jerry Lee was sent to live with Bonny’s ex-husband and her other children. Later it was discovered that Bonny made death threats against Lewis’s wife.

Bakley’s “Anything Goes” Policy:

Bakley’s address book filled up with names, some famous and some just rich. Names such as Robert DeNiro, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Jimmy Swaggart were found among the list. Bakley’s sex business became bolder and she advertised in the sex magazines that she was a tri-sexual, meaning she would try anything once and her preference was sadomasochism, couple’s sex, and bisexuality. She swindled men to tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars with her “anything goes” claims.

Bakley’s Criminal Record:

Bakley was arrested for trying to write bad checks in the tune of $200,000 and was sentenced to report to a penal farm on weekends for three years. In Arkansas she was arrested for carrying over 30 fake identifications and was placed on probabtion. When she completed her sentence in Tennessee, and her friendship with Lewis was over, she decided it was time to leave the south and she headed to the land of fame and stardom — Hollywood.Bakley and Blake: Bonny continued running her sex scams in magazines plus dating a few stars, one being Christian Brando. How she and Robert Blake actually met, depends on who you ask. Bonny’s sister said they met at a jazz club and bonded from across the room. Blake’s attorney said Robert Blake did not even know her name and they had sex in the back of a truck, never in his home. Whatever is the truth, one thing was for certain, it wasn’t the match made in heaven.

Shortly after the affair began Bonny told Blake that she was pregnant. Sources say Bonny was taking fertility pills as a way to trap her star into her web. When the baby was born, she named her, Christian Shannon Brando and listed Brando as the father although a paternity test later proved the father to be Blake.

Bonny Lee and Robert Blake married in November 2000 and Bonny moved into a guest house on the property. In May 2001, Robert Blake and Bonny went to dinner at Vitello’s Italian Restaurant, where Blake was a regular customer. After dinner the two walked to their car and according to Blake he realized he left his revolver at the restaurant and left to retrieve it. When he returned to the car he found Bonny Lee with a gunshot wound to her head, dying in the front seat. Blake ran for help but Bonny Lee soon died.

After a year of investigations, Robert Blake was arrested and charged with the murder of Bonny Lee Bakley. On March 15, 2005, a jury of seven women and five men deliberated for more than 36 hours before returning a verdict of not guilty in the murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley and not guilty on one count of soliciting someone to murder her.

PHOENIX – A murdered young woman buried as Jane Doe in Colorado 55 years ago. An Arizona family puzzled and saddened as Dorothy Gay Howard’s disappearance stretched into decades.

It took a historian, a detective and a determined family member to make the connection after more than a half century that these two people were one and the same.

Howard’s younger sister, Marlene Howard Ashman, the last surviving member of the immediate family, was relieved last month when authorities announced the identification.

“It was just complete and utter shock,” said Ashman, who lives in Mena, Ark., but spoke to The Associated Press from Newport, N.C., where she was visiting her daughter.

“All these 55 years, I guess I learned as a child to put it in an abstract form so I could deal with it; it’s easier to accept,” Ashman said.

But the younger sister is grappling with the fact that Howard was murdered and is aching to know who killed her.

“Now that I know, it isn’t so much that she died, but the horrible death,” she said.

Boulder County Sheriff’s Detective Steve Ainsworth, the lead investigator in the case, said Howard died of blunt-force trauma. She couldn’t be identified because her body was found a week after she was killed, and animals had gotten to her face and fingers.

At the time, the mystery made headlines across Colorado, and Boulder residents raised enough money to buy her a gravestone, which read “Jane Doe — April 1954 — Age About 20 Years.”

Boulder County sheriff’s officials have credited historian Silvia Pettem with encouraging them to renew efforts to identify Jane Doe. Pettem became interested in the woman and her story after visiting the cemetery in the 1990s and writing the book “Someone’s Daughter, In Search of Justice for Jane Doe.”

Meanwhile, Howard’s grandniece Michelle Marie Fowler decided to contact Ainsworth after reading an article about Jane Doe and suspecting for years that Howard had been killed.

Ainsworth asked Ashman to provide a DNA sample, and the family learned Oct. 23 that Ashman and Jane Doe were related.

Ainsworth said it was gratifying to tell Howard’s family what had happened to her, but he now has a new focus.

“We know who she is, but there’s still another mystery and that may be the biggest mystery of all, and that’s who did it,” Ainsworth said.

He said his gut tells him it was serial killer Harvey Glatman, who was executed in 1959 in California. Glatman, who confessed to killing three women, had served time in a Colorado state prison for violent assaults on women, including one about a quarter of a mile from where Howard’s body was found.

Because of marks on her body, evidence at the scene and a passing reference Glatman made to a California police detective, Ainsworth’s theory is that Glatman hit Howard with his car as she tried to get away. Now, Ainsworth just has to prove it.

Ashman said all she wants is justice for her sister.

She said Howard was extremely strong-willed and lived quite a life in her 18 years, including marrying twice. “Once she decided on a course, it would take heaven and earth to stop her,” Ashman said.

Petite and attractive with blond hair, Howard was the oldest of three sisters born in the Texas Panhandle. The girls’ parents moved the family to Phoenix in 1942 for “greener pastures.”

Howard married her first husband at age 15 with her parents’ permission, but she got divorced and remarried unbeknownst to her family, Ashman said. The family found out about the second marriage years after Howard disappeared.

Howard was working as a live-in nanny in Phoenix the last her family heard from her; they reported her missing when she didn’t show up to take one of her sisters to the movies.

Because Howard was so willful and had run away from home once before, Ashman said the family thought she just didn’t want to see them again. “We always waited to hear from her,” she said.

Ashman still has a letter that her sister wrote to her parents soon before she disappeared.